Good Books for the Common Good – Blue Ocotillo Publishing Austin, Texas

Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8)

My colleague, Pastor T. Carlos Anderson, started Blue Ocotillo Publishing in 2014 to produce books that uplift the common good. Blue Ocotillo seeks to publish authors who, by their storytelling, desire to do the same. I am fortunate to be his third book. Together we got my first novel, Asunder, out in book form at the end of May. It will be out in electronic form later this summer.

Ocotillo plants (Oh-koe-TEE-yo), as if a hybrid between a cactus and a scrub bush, grow in the American Southwest and northern deserts of Mexico. They bloom in the spring. Wide stretches of Texas’s Big Bend National Park glow with a low-hanging ethereal red-orange in April. On the rare occasions when rain descends upon the desert, the ocotillo respond by sprouting tight green leaves, some of which eventually become thorns.

Ocotillo exhibit beauty, veracity, and efficiency emerging from a challenging environment. These attributes help describe the mission of Blue Ocotillo Publishing. While there is no such thing as a blue ocotillo, blue, the color of hope, is adopted nonetheless as our emblem. Our books aim to offer hope and insight for a world greatly in need of fresh perspectives to serve the common good. All following titles are available at www.blueocotillo.com.

Just a Little Bit More: The Culture of Excess and the Fate of the Common Good (2014) by T. Carlos Anderson tackles economic and social inequalities, and offers economic democracy as a better way.

Bound To Texas: Benjamin Ingram Harper, Early Educator and Hero in the Struggle for Texas Independence (2015) by Sam Harper is a historical novel tells the tale of an early Texas settler, arguably the first teacher in the land of Texas.

Asunder by Kathryn Haueisen (2016) is a novel that follows protagonist Ellie Trout on the road to recovery from a difficult divorce. Included is a Scripturally-based discussion guide, Asunder is perfectly suited for book clubs and church study groups.